Improvement in gaiters



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

VHENRY B. GOODYEAR, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN GAITERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,140, dated January 14, 1862.

, other Like Foot or Leg Coverings; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1 and 2 represent side views of my improved gaiter, showing its appearance on the inside and outside, respectively.

It is unnecessary here to describe the use of gaiters in general, except so far as to render the principal object and advantages appreciable. It will therefore suffice to say that the main object of the gaiter is not only to keep the foot, ankle, and leg dry, warm, and clean, but-since it has been found that if sufficiently tight, without, however, impeding free circulation, they afford a support to the ankle-to fortify the foot and to increase the endurance of the foot traveler and soldier; also to allow tucking in the lower extremities of the trousers or pantaloons, whatever be their thickness, and thus holding them by the gaiter, and thereby adding to the convenience of the wearer on the march or on horseback.

Gaiters as heretofore made, though capable of answering acertain purpose, fail to embody features whereby they may fulfill-both, either, and all the objects they are intended for. Thus gaiters made of linen, cotton, or woolen cloth or leather are seriously defective, for not only are they easily soiled, requiringconstant cleaning, but because, on account of their permeability, they are liable to become moist, cold, and uncomfortable, and thus lay the seeds of disease generally attributed to camp life.l Moreover, while the gaiter is designed to afford protection to the trousers, want of elasticity prevents those hitherto made from being used with trousers of different thicknesses of material.

The object of my invention, therefore, is the production of a gaiter capable of being worn under or over the trousers, that shall combine strength, durability, beauty with warmth, elasticity, impermeability to wet, facility of cleaning; and it consists in the production, as a new article of manufacture, of

a gaiter wholly or in part elastic, made of vulcanized rubber, its elastic compound or its equivalent, and backed by a knit web or other textile and ten'sible fabric, its outer surface being varnished or painted, substantially as hereinafter described.

To enable-others skilled in the art of manufacturing india-rubber articles to make this iny improved g-aiter, I shall now proceed to describe the process adopted by me to produce the same, preinising, however, that I do vnot confine myself to the precise mode hereinafter set forth, it being obvious that the same is susceptible of many modications which will readily suggest themselves to those acquainted with the art of making india-rubber shoes or the like india-rubber articles.

The rubber compound (containing the requisite amount of sulphur and other foreign matter usually compounded with reduced rubber, and which experience has thought to be best for the production of elastic goods, such as shoes, dac.) being duly prepared, rolled into thin sheets, and applied while yet in its plastic state onto stockinet or other knit or tensible fabric, so as to firmly adhere to it, is cut out according to a pattern or model that is shaped according to the developed surface of the instep or upper portion of the foot, the heel` the ankle, and the lower part of the leg. I then take what is called a former or block- 01. e., a pattern -block of the' foot, ankle, and leg-which is shaped according to a finished gaiter, allowance being made for the lap of the gaiter, which renders it somewhat enlarged at that side which corresponds to the lap side of the gaiter or that part thereof which is provided with its fastening devices. The form or block is then snugly fitted with or by the rubber-coated stockinet and is secured to it by means of pins or tacks. This rubber-coated stockinet constitutes the basework of the gaiter, and is applied to the block in one piece, the ends being made to convene along a line on the top of the foot and in front of the leg. The edges are brought together and united by means of a rubbercoated strip of strong binding a, that overlaps both edges of the stockinet. Having thus roughly shaped the gaiter on its last, I then proceed to finish it by strengthening it at those parts which are most exposed to wear or strain and by applying its appurtenances-such as straps, buttons, &c.; and in the first place I prepare the under strap b of a stout rubber sheet firmly united and combined with knit or elastic fabric. I then apply it to the gaiter by putting it snugly against the sole part of the block, so as to allow the ends to lap over the sides of the gaiter, to which they are made to adhere by virtue of the cementing quality of the rubber compound covering the gaiter. I then put a stay cof elastic cloth around the heel partand cover the whole gaiter below the ankle with an eXtra sheet of rubber d. By these means I eifectually fortify the gaiter at that part mostly exposed to wear and give it sufficient body to protect the footv against cold and wet Without, however, diminishing its elastic quality. I now take a narrow strip c of strong linen canvas and so cover it with a thin sheet of rubber as to overlap its edges. This sheet is then perforated at distances equal from each other for the passage of the buttons and eyes, through which I pass a strong cord, and, these being properly cemented together, the whole is cemented down onto the button side of the gaiter. Parallel to the last-described strip on the opposite side of the buttons and bordering the edge of the button-hole side I use another strip f of strong canvas covered with a thin sheet of rubberto overlap its edges. This strip, which is of a width to extend the length of the button-holes, is cemented down onto its proper place, care having been taken previously to insert a strong cord g in such manner as to occupy a position in front of the button-holes, and thereby prevent the holes from being torn out. 'Ihe button-holes may then be cut and the imitation binding and stitching on the top and bottom of the gaiter put on by afxing other rubber straps and by running a toothed wheel over or close to the edge. At

this stage the gaiter is varnished and taken to the heater, where it undergoes vulcanization. The gaiter thus completed is yet closed on the lapping edges. To inish it, it is merely necessary to cut it open along a line previously marked between the row of buttons and the row of button-holes.

Having thus fully described my improvement, I would observe that I do not confine my invention to the precise form of gaiter, nor yet to the exact Inode of producing the same, it being obvious that modifications may be effected both in the style of the article as well as in the manner of producing it. Thus the gaiter may be larger to extend up to the knee or even above the knee, or it may be made smaller in form, like the ordinary cloth gaiter, and be worn with shoes in immediate contact with the stocking of the wearer, or, again, it may be made large enough to fit over both the boot or shoe and the trousers. Gaiters may also be made with or without buttons. In the latter case straps are secured to the one side and buckles to the other in the same manner as the under strap is fixed in the gaiter herein described.

I claim- As a new article of manufacture, a gaiter wholly or in part elastic, made of vulcanized india-rubber or of its elastic compound or its equivalent and backed by a knit web or other textile tensible fabric, the upper surface being varnished, and the whole constructed substantially in the manner as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY B. GOODYEAR. Witnesses:

WILSON H. CLARK, ALLEN A. SMITH. 

